New Scam on Ebay

So I just found out about this little trend of scamming that has taken place on Ebay with a few people. It really hasn't taken off yet like the 'Nigeria Scam' but it's something to look out for.

So I know two people that were hit with it, and I was almost a victim of it as well. This scam mainly works with people selling electronics, but I'm sure there's ways it can be implemented into other areas as well.

So a buyer will win your auction. They can be Paypal verified, even have a confirmed address for you to ship to. After they recieve there item they will contact you and tell you that it's somehow defective (maybe done in shipping, maybe faulty product, whatever) and that they would either like an exchange or refund. You (the seller) tell them to ship the unit back so you can see for yourself and you'll take the proper actions after that. You get the item back, check it and sure enough it doesn't work, so you either credit them with a full refund or send them another new one while you deal with the defective unit and the manufacutre.

Now they got you. You probably didn't even see it did you. I know becasue I almost fell victim to it as well. What happens is the buyer actually sends you there old, defective unit that they already had, while keeping the new unit you already sent them and hopefully getting a second one as well or all there money back.

I had a funny feeling about the person telling me that the Ipod I sold them was completely defective, especially since it was the unit that I opened and tested when I first got them from China. When the unit came back it just didn't look right, like it was used for a while. So I pulled up the pictures I took of the Ipod, since I took a picture of the serial number on the back as well and that's when I realized the buyer had sent me back a different unit. When I contacted him about this he confesed that he was trying to either get a new one for free or get two for the price of one. He said he found out about this techinque from a friend, who had done it with cell phones, Xbox's, Playstations and other electronics. I was going to report him to Ebay but unfortunatly there really isn't any thing I could do except leave negative feedback, which really wouldn't help (I also contacted some of the other people he had purchased from before me to see if he got away with this from them, but apparently he was telling the truth when he said this was his first, and now last time tyring it).

So anyways, long post short. Sellers, make sure to mark down all of the serial numbers to the producst your selling, or take pictures of the serial numbers incase someone tries to pull a fast one on you.

As to what can be done you can file a legal theft charge against this person call the state or local police in that persons area
(If they live in the US
to help stop this I would suggest that all items shipped be done so with an invoice with the serial # or your own ID # on the product Most electronics have a serial if however they do not talk to a local vcr or electronics repair service in your area ask them about the Tamper tape they use and who there suppiers are This is a form of tape that if remoived will not stick again and will print VOID on the tape many suppliers ship this tape with your company logo simply tape accros the back of the unit and if removed the warrenty and return policy is void

Yeah I never really thought about before with other things that I sold on Ebay until I really started selling a large amount of electronics. Then when 2 of my friends were hit I really thought about my options. I forgot about tamper tape, and I may have to get some before my next listings.

Hello, I 've been selling on ebay for 10 years. Here's What I do. I put a secret dot, letter or some other very tiny (sellers mark) on everything I sell. Very discreetly the buyer will never know it's there.

I had a auto body shop tried to charge me for a new hood when in truth it was the old one. I had marked the hood,

Thanks for the warning, I am just starting out and was looking at selling electricals. My friend had the same sort of thing happen.The buyer had said that they did not receive the item and she re sent another item, and yet the buyer emailed that she had not recieved that one either...... Thats when my friend woke up and realised what the buyer was doing and confronted them. I think the tape and the 'sellers' mark are excellent ideas. :wink:

Thanks for the warning, I am just starting out and was looking at selling electricals. My friend had the same sort of thing happen.The buyer had said that they did not receive the item and she re sent another item, and yet the buyer emailed that she had not recieved that one either...... Thats when my friend woke up and realised what the buyer was doing and confronted them. I think the tape and the 'sellers' mark are excellent ideas. :wink:

actually this scam is not that new, maybe for online sales but for retail stores it isn't new to me. I used to run a electronics store selling mobile electronics, when I sell an electronic device or anything actually, I mark it with a certain color paint pen somewhere on it where they cannot find it, even if it means to remove a cover, panel, whatever it is, or engrave a serial number on the device with an electric engraver before they buy it. Some customers tried to return an item, I flip it over remove a part, verify it is was purchased from my company, if not, then I tell them I cannot accept this item. Of course I do this in the back so they do not see me inspecting it. For the shrink wrap items, it's always a good investment in buying one of those shrink wrap machines so that you can re wrap the package so they will never know you tagged it. Also, just make sure you tag the item on something that cannot easily be replace by another part that they already have :D

So I just found out about this little trend of scamming that has taken place on Ebay with a few people. It really hasn't taken off yet like the 'Nigeria Scam' but it's something to look out for.

So I know two people that were hit with it, and I was almost a victim of it as well. This scam mainly works with people selling electronics, but I'm sure there's ways it can be implemented into other areas as well.

So a buyer will win your auction. They can be Paypal verified, even have a confirmed address for you to ship to. After they recieve there item they will contact you and tell you that it's somehow defective (maybe done in shipping, maybe faulty product, whatever) and that they would either like an exchange or refund. You (the seller) tell them to ship the unit back so you can see for yourself and you'll take the proper actions after that. You get the item back, check it and sure enough it doesn't work, so you either credit them with a full refund or send them another new one while you deal with the defective unit and the manufacutre.

Now they got you. You probably didn't even see it did you. I know becasue I almost fell victim to it as well. What happens is the buyer actually sends you there old, defective unit that they already had, while keeping the new unit you already sent them and hopefully getting a second one as well or all there money back.

I had a funny feeling about the person telling me that the Ipod I sold them was completely defective, especially since it was the unit that I opened and tested when I first got them from China. When the unit came back it just didn't look right, like it was used for a while. So I pulled up the pictures I took of the Ipod, since I took a picture of the serial number on the back as well and that's when I realized the buyer had sent me back a different unit. When I contacted him about this he confesed that he was trying to either get a new one for free or get two for the price of one. He said he found out about this techinque from a friend, who had done it with cell phones, Xbox's, Playstations and other electronics. I was going to report him to Ebay but unfortunatly there really isn't any thing I could do except leave negative feedback, which really wouldn't help (I also contacted some of the other people he had purchased from before me to see if he got away with this from them, but apparently he was telling the truth when he said this was his first, and now last time tyring it).

So anyways, long post short. Sellers, make sure to mark down all of the serial numbers to the producst your selling, or take pictures of the serial numbers incase someone tries to pull a fast one on you.

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